Franchises: Godzilla. Godzilla Raids Again (1955)/Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959)

Godzilla Raids Again

This is the only Showa era Godzilla movie that I have no childhood connection to whatsoever. I knew of its existence, at least in its Americanized version, Gigantis, the Fire Monster, from a very young age thanks to the Godzilla book in Crestwood House's monster movie series, which I often checked out from my elementary school's library, but I wouldn't learn it was actually called Godzilla Raids Again (at least, internationally) and that it was the second entry in the series until I read the Godzilla Compendium when I was ten. Not that it mattered, as even though that book compelled me to try to get my hands on every single movie, now that I knew exactly how many there were and their various titles, Godzilla Raids Again completely eluded me throughout the years. No matter how hard or where I looked, I never found it on VHS, and so, from my late childhood all the way into my early adulthood, there was a noticeable gap in my Godzilla collection between the original and King Kong vs. Godzilla. By 2007, I had long since stopped trying to find Godzilla Raids Again and had written it off as a "lost" film that I would never see... until it ended up getting released on DVD that spring thanks to Classic Media. When I learned of this, I almost fainted. I couldn't believe that this movie that had been something of an intangible specter my entire life was finally going to be within my grasp and I could now, at 19, finally complete my Godzilla collection. There are no words to describe how excited I was when I picked up that DVD, along with Classic Media's release of Mothra vs. Godzilla, at Best Buy shortly after I learned of it. And that Sunday, I finally sat down and watched the Godzilla movie I'd searched for the most... only for it to turn out to hardly be worth all those years of anticipation, as it's a very unremarkable film. Almost everything about it is bland, especially the story and characters, as well as many of "action sequences," if you can call most of them that. Even Godzilla himself isn't as awe-inspiring or menacing a presence as he was previously (he's actually unintentionally sympathetic), and while his first battle with another monster here is certainly the highlight, it's little more than a prototype for the far more entertaining and memorable battles he would fight in the future. It's not a horrible movie, mind you, but I kind of wish it was really bad, as it would be more memorable; instead, it's just "meh," which is almost worse.

Tsukioka and Kobayashi are pilots who spot schools of fish from the air for an Osaka-based tuna company. One day, during a routine run, Kobayashi's plane has engine trouble and he's forced to land near the barren, rocky island of Iwato. Tsukioka manages to locate his friend and puts down on the island with him, but as they're warming themselves by a far, with Kobayashi nursing a broken hand, the men are shocked to see two enormous creatures engaged in battle. Tsukioka quickly identifies one of them as Godzilla and, after a brief scuffle, the monsters tumble into the ocean. The pilots then escape back to Osaka, reporting what they witnessed to the authorities. A scientist identifies the second monster as an Ankylosaurus, also known as Anguirus, while Dr. Yamane from Tokyo informs the authorities that the new Godzilla is indeed of the same species as the one that destroyed Tokyo not too long ago. He also tells them that, with both the Oxygen Destroyer and Dr. Serizawa gone, there is no way to kill him and, should he attack, they can only lead him away with the use of flares, which enrage him because they bring back memories of the bomb and the mutation it caused him. Godzilla does soon approach Osaka and this plan is put into action and works... until some escaped criminals crash a gasoline truck they've commandeered into an industrial complex, causing a massive fire. This draws Godzilla back to the city, followed soon after by Anguirus, himself attracted by the flares. The two of them engage in a destructive battle that all but levels Osaka, including the tuna company's cannery, before ultimately ending with Godzilla triumphant. The following day, after surveying the damage, the company owner and branch manager decide to relocate to their branch in Hokkaido for the time being. While Tsukioka, Kobayashi, and everyone else are happy about this, their revelry is short-lived when Godzilla destroys one of their fishing vessels and takes refuge on an icy island. Now, they must join up with the military in order to defeat the monster before he wipes out their very livelihood.

Godzilla Raids Again's conception is very similar to that of The Son of Kong, the rushed sequel to the original King Kong that was released the very same year as its incredible parent. With Godzilla having been a big hit when it was released in Japan in November of 1954, the brass at Toho intended to capitalize on it while it was still hot and had Tomoyuki Tanaka begin production on a sequel almost immediately. The film was released on April 24th, 1955, less than six months after the first film's release on November 3rd, and like with The Son of Kong, that's quite impressive, given the amount of effects work the story required. Also like that movie, its legacy is that it served its purpose and made a profit but is generally seen as vastly inferior to its predecessor because of its rushed, thrown together nature. Given a choice between the two of them, I'd actually much rather watch The Son of Kong. That movie may not be a major classic but it's still fairly entertaining and has some genuinely good aspects, while Godzilla Raids Again, as we'll get into, is rather ho-hum and standard.

Ishiro Honda was busy with another film when Godzilla Raids Again went into production (ironically, according to Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski in their book, Ishiro Honda: A Life in Film, From Godzilla to Kurosawa, Toho producer Iwao Mori felt Honda was better suited for female-centric dramas!), so the sequel was instead directed by Motoyoshi Oda. A graduate of the prestigious Waseda University who was then accepted into the director's program at Tokyo's P.C.L., a film company that would later be incorporated into Toho, Oda studied under Kajiro Yamamoto, the same man who mentored Honda, as well as Akira Kurosawa and Senkichi Taniguchi. But, unlike Honda and Taniguchi, Oda didn't serve in the military and was quickly promoted to director in 1940, after having been in training for only a few years. He would go on to direct as many as fifty films in his career (Toho had him making up to seven a year), as well as serve as Ishiro Honda's assistant and second-unit director on Eagle of the Pacific in 1953, but his films were mostly low budget programmers simply meant to supply theaters with product. He became known for bringing the movies in on time and budget, which was likely a big incentive behind the studio choosing him to direct Godzilla Raids Again, but he had virtually no opportunities for artistic expression. Though, if this film is any indication, it seems like, despite having studied with Honda and Kurosawa, he didn't have the same kind of inspiration that they did and was merely an adequate craftsman. That's only speculation on my part, as Oda is such an obscure figure that, not only is Godzilla Raids Again the only one of his films to have ever been released outside of Japan, but I couldn't even find a photo of him when I initially did this review. By the end of the 50's, he was working in television and his career seems to have abruptly ended shortly afterward. He died in 1973, at the age of 64.

The quick, cash-in nature of Godzilla Raids Again is apparent in many places, including its cast of characters, none of whom are as nuanced or memorable as those in the first movie. This isn't a case of bad acting, as there are a number of notable talents here, some of whom would go on to become mainstays in the franchise and the tokasatsu genre in general; rather, like the characters in many 50's monsters movies, they're just bland. For instance, the lead, Tsukioka (Hiroshi Koizumi), is a likable enough guy, very handsome and dapper, and

willing to do anything to help those in need, especially when it comes to the tuna company he works for, but that's all there is to him. In fact, he's kind of akin to Ogata in the original, in that he can be considered the "lead" primarily because his name is first in the credits. The only significant things he does is confirm, along with Kobayashi, the existence of a second Godzilla and the new monster, Anguirus, lend his flying abilities to aid in the military's search for Godzilla later on, and pilot his own fighter jet in the attack that buries Godzilla in the ice and snow, specifically in firing the final missiles that finish the job, the latter of which he does as an act of vengeance for Kobayashi's death. During the second act, he and Kobayashi also try to help the police catch some criminals who've escaped from a prison bus but that attempt fails completely. I can say even less about Hidemi (Setsuko Wakayama), Tsukioka's girlfriend and the head of the company's daughter. Unlike Emiko and her important role in the original's plot, Hidemi, who works as a radio operator for the tuna company, does absolutely nothing except talk about how she much loves Tsukioka, tell him he has courage when he's doubting himself, worry about him whenever there's danger nearby, and try to teach Kobayashi about what women want, or, at least, her idea of what they want.

If there's a character whom I can say I kind of enjoy, it's Kobayashi (Minoru Chiaki), Tsukioka's good buddy and fellow tuna pilot. Honestly, though, Kobayashi doesn't have much more to him than the other characters, so I guess I'm just a sucker for these types of heavyset characters who are like big teddy bears in their personalities. Kobayashi is serious when he needs to be and, like Tsukioka, is willing to do anything to help the company he works for, but he also comes across as a big lovable lug to his friends and coworkers, as well as kind of funny. I do smirk when Tsukioka tells him at the beginning of the film that he was able to locate him and his downed plane thanks to Hidemi and the other female radio operator, and he groans, "You mean I owe my life to those nags?" During the latter half of the movie, when the company's headquarters have relocated to Hokkaido, there's a very minor subplot concerning Kobayashi's search for a wife, leading to him being referred to as "Mr. Groom" by his coworkers, but it doesn't amount to anything. Even though I do kind of like Kobayashi, he's not developed nearly enough for me to care about his search for a woman and so, when he's asking Hidemi about what women want (which, according to her, is insignificant stuff like handbags, watches, and such), I'm rolling my eyes and wishing the movie would get back to Godzilla. Also, when Hidemi looks inside this little black book he accidentally leaves behind and sees a picture of who, I think, is his intended future wife, I was initially confused. Given how Hidemi smiles at the picture, I was wondering if this girl was somebody I'd seen before and should know (I thought she might be the other radio operator who was working with Hidemi at the beginning of the film), but then, I felt maybe Hidemi was just happy he'd found someone. Again, it doesn't matter because, after that scene, Kobayashi attempts to keep Godzilla on the frozen island of Kamiko until the Air Force can arrive by distracting him with his plane, but the plane is hit with his atomic breath and crashes into the side of the mountain. However, Kobayashi's unintended sacrifice creates an avalanche, giving the others an idea of how to defeat Godzilla, so it wasn't pointless. But, as with his search for love, his death had no impact on me at all.

There's very little to say about the supporting characters. Yamaji (Yukio Kasama), the president of the tuna company, is just a benevolent boss who has the utmost faith in his men, especially Tsukioka and Kobayashi, and worries about the impact Godzilla's attack may have on his and everyone else's livelihood. There's even less to say about the company's branch manager, Shibeki (Sonosuke Sawamura) other than he's elated when the company quickly manages to get back on its feet after losing the Osaka branch and jokingly

promises to be a matchmaker for Kobayashi in Hokkaido. Yoshio Tsuchiya, an eccentric actor who, like Hiroshi Koizumi, would become a familiar face in these films, makes his first appearance in the series as Tajima, a member of the defense corps and an old college and war buddy of Tsukioka's. He leads the final attacks against Godzilla on Kamiko Island and is the one who explains to the men the dangers of the plan's final phase, which involves burying Godzilla in the ice and snow. Ren Yamamoto, who played the role

of Masaji in the original Godzilla, has a small role here as Ikeda, another old friend of Tsukioka's and the commander of the landing craft during the final attack. Another returning actor from the first film is Takashi Shimura, reprising his role of Dr. Yamane in what's little more than a glorified cameo. He has nothing to do other than give the authorities the grim news that, without the Oxygen Destroyer, there's no way to kill this second Godzilla, as well as show them a film of the first Godzilla's attack on Tokyo the previous year and advise them to use flares to lead the monster out to

sea, away from any cities in his path. Shimura's heart also doesn't seem to be in it, as Yamane doesn't seem as horrified as he should be about his prediction at the end of the original movie coming to pass. Still, though, it's nice to see the character again. One last character I want to briefly mention is Dr. Tadokoro (Masao Shimizu), a zoologist who identifies the second monster as Anguirus, informs the authorities of the creature's nature, and, after Dr. Yamane abruptly disappears from the film after that one scene, briefly advises the military on what

to do about trying to find Godzilla. Like everyone else, there isn't much to him, and he also doesn't stick around for very long, but I always enjoy the wise old scientists who often appear in these movies and have all of the answers for the leads. They're such a staple of the genre that you just have to smile whenever you see them. 

One thing that separates Godzilla Raids Again from its predecessor on both a tonal and visual level is the time of year it's set. While the original Godzilla's story began on an August morning and continued through a sweltering late summer, as indicated by the bright sunlight in the daytime scenes and people constantly fanning themselves and wiping off sweat, this film is set and was shot during the winter, with everyone wearing heavy clothing and jackets, the sky always being overcast, and the third act being set up north in Hokkaido, which is experiencing heavy snowfall,

while the climax is set on an almost arctic island. This, along with the film's very look seeming to have a lot more gray in the black-and-white, rather than the stark look of the original, naturally gives it a more low-energy, melancholic feel. You can also see the downgrade in the budget, as there's not nearly as much location-work as before, and few of the sets are all that memorable, as most of the human story takes place in mundane settings like the tuna company's offices, both in Osaka and Hokkaido, and government situation rooms. That said, I do find the restaurant where Tsukioka

parties with his old college chums to be kind of charming in how simple and traditionally Japanese it is, and the nightclub where he and Hidemi dance early on is okay, if a little lacking in terms of set decoration, save for a curved stairway and a patterned wall behind the bandstand. And as Steve Ryfle notes in his audio commentary, the set meant to represent a small quarry on Iwato Island where Tsukioka and Kobayashi take cover while watching a short scuffle between Godzilla and Anguirus is very small, claustrophobic, and cheap-looking, in stark contrast to the large vistas of Odo Island in the original.

In my opinion, there are two things a Godzilla movie should never be: forgettable and boring, and Godzilla Raids Again, unfortunately is often both. It's such an unremarkable and bland film that, even though I've watched it a fair amount of times over the years, I always struggle to remember specific scenes and moments. Seriously, once I'm done watching it, just about everything, from the story, characters, and so on, begin leaving my brain. And yes, make no mistake, this is one of the most boring Godzilla movies ever. There are very long stretches where nothing interesting is happening

and you're just sitting there, twiddling your thumbs,waiting for things to pick back up. It's especially true for the stretch of the movie following Godzilla and Anguirus' battle in Osaka, as Godzilla disappears for a good, long while and you're stuck watching these uninteresting characters adapt to their relocation to Hokkaido, where they throw a joyful company party. It's not uncommon in these movies for there to be long stretches where the kaiju aren't onscreen but, for the most part, they manage to keep your attention with characters whom you, at least, like, as they

discuss and do interesting stuff. Not here. I'm not interested in Tsukioka and Hidemi talking about what might happen to Osaka, Hidemi assuring Tsukioka that he does have courage, Tsukioka meeting up and partying with his college buddies, whom we've never heard of beforehand, in Hokkaido, or Kobayashi's superfluous search for a bride. Another reason why the pacing just plain sucks is because there are instances where sequences meant to be exciting or suspenseful are interrupted for a few minutes and we have to wait

to a bit before we can get back to the "action." For instance, that scene I mentioned where Kobayashi shows up and asks Hidemi what women want? It comes right in the middle of Tsukioka and the military's search for Godzilla! Granted, it wasn't that exciting anyway but, still, you don't interrupt a that with a guy asking for gift suggestions for his would-be bride. The same goes for the climactic battle with Godzilla on Kamiko Island. They manage to bury Godzilla up to his chest in ice and snow but then, they feel it's not working well

enough and head back to base to switch out the bombs they were using with missiles. First off, like I said, Godzilla was thoroughly buried when they left, so I don't know why they felt it wasn't working, and two, yet again, the action gets interrupted for a few minutes before we can get back to it, and that especially sucks when you're talking about what's supposed to be the "big, thrilling climax."

I've been using terms like "action sequences" loosely because, truth be told, these scenes lack pacing and are mainly just monotonous and repetitive. The "car chase," where Tsukioka and Kobayashi try to help the police catch some escaped criminals, is very slow and plodding, possibly qualifying as the most boring vehicle chase ever put to film. When Godzilla and Anguirus are onscreen, the excitement does pick up a little bit but not by much. Their battle in Osaka is the big centerpiece and highlight of the film, as it should be, but it's still not much to write home

about, as all they do is struggle with, push, and shove each other around until Godzilla finally decides he's had enough and kills Anguirus. It's not as campily fun as Godzilla's battles in later films, since there are no wrestling or judo moves here, and while there are good moments, to be sure, you can only watch the two of them grapple and push each other around for so long before it gets tedious. The same goes for the climactic confrontation between the military and Godzilla on Kamiko Island. At the beginning of the battle, all they do is

fly over and drop bombs around Godzilla before Kobayashi ends up unintentionally sacrificing himself and gives the others an idea on how to defeat the monster. After that, we have the section where they inexplicably stop trying to bury Godzilla with the bombs because they feel it's not working well and go back to base to come up with a new strategy and load up with missiles, bringing things to a screeching halt. And even the final attack is kind of dull, as all they do is fire at the mountainsides over and over again, until they manage to bury Godzilla completely, and by this point, I'm watching the movie simply to get it over with.

Motoyoshia Oda and Ishiro Honda may have studied under the same mentor but the tone of Godzilla Raids Again serves as a prime example of how their filmmaking sensibilities were completely different. The feeling of foreboding and doom that pervaded the original Godzilla is nowhere to be found here and yet, you'd think it would be even more palpable, given that there are now two monsters threatening Japan. Not only are the scenes where the characters are faced with the threat and worry about what might happen not effective but, moreover, the aftermath of Osaka's

destruction is like night and day when compared with its predecessor. When Godzilla destroyed Tokyo in the first film, we saw hw devastating it was and how it shattered the lives of hundreds of people, either by actually killing them, leaving them suffering from radiation burns and poisoning, or, most heart-wrenching of all, leaving them alive to mourn their lost loved ones. Here, Oda shoots a tracking shot of the ruined Osaka, akin to what Honda did, but it has none of that sense of tragedy and devastation. If fact, nobody's all that broken up, and Mr. Yamaji and Shibeki are more

concerned about their cannery having been destroyed, and even that is immediately forgotten when Yamaji says he'll rebuild it and that they'll relocate to the Hokkaido branch for now. And in the following scene, where the characters come together in the ruined offices to discuss what to do next, everybody's downright chipper, going as far as to make jokes and laugh, as if it's all an inconvenience instead of a major tragedy. In A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series, David Kalat talks about how this

peculiar optimism is indicative of a change in the allegory, stating that if Godzilla was about the horrors of war and atomic testing, Godzilla Raids Again is about the process of rebuilding. I can kind of see what he means, as the Japanese have proven themselves to be very resilient in moving on after catastrophes like the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the enormous earthquake of 2011, but still, I don't think they should be this upbeat immediately after such a tragedy. Plus, Kalat admits that, allegorical context aside, this

attitude ruins what could have been an effective method of showing how something like this would affect ordinary, working class people who don't have the resources of the upper-class characters in the original. Even when Kobayashi is killed near the end, his friends' mourning doesn't amount to much, making it all the more impossible for it to have any emotional impact on the viewer.

For all of the criticisms I've leveled and will continue to level at him throughout this review, Motoyoshi Oda does manage to create some nice images and moments here and there. When Dr. Yamane shows the authorities film footage of the first Godzilla's attack on Tokyo, the scene is completely silent, save for the sound of the film projector, and there's a notable somber and foreboding feeling to it all. The same feeling also applies to shots of a squadron of fighter jets flying across the blacked out Osaka when Godzilla is reported nearby. Again, the scene is completely

silent, save for the sounds of the planes, and it's very indicative of how it would've looked and felt during wartime air raids. As the destruction wrought by Godzilla and Anguirus during their battle accumulates, there's a moment where Hidemi, who's taken refuge in her house outside of the city, looks out the window and sees a mushroom cloud-like formation created by all of the smoke. This is one of the best images in the film, looking totally foreboding and akin to something you would've expected Honda to have

come up with. I also like some shots later on of a couple of people's faces looking out of windows, framed in the middle of rings of frost on the outside, as there's just something very charming and poetic about them. And finally, even though it's obviously a painting, I do like the ending shot of Kamiko Island after the battle against Godzlla has been won, as it looks very beautiful and the music that accompanies it makes for a nice enough way to end the film.

Unlike his predecessor, who was very much akin to an angry god exacting nature's revenge for the atomic bomb, this second Godzilla is portrayed more like a large, enraged animal who's mainly just defending himself from those attacking him, be they Anguirus or the military. Ergo, all of the death and destruction he causes is either out of defense or by accident. There's also an attempt to make him come off as more than a mindless beast, as Dr. Yamane states that Godzilla hates bright lights, such as flares, because they remind him of the atomic bomb and the transformation it put him through. But, while the plan to lure him away from Osaka with flares does temporarily work, I don't know if there's really that much to depth it as Yamane implies. While you could possibly connect it to his warning in the original movie about shining lights in Godzilla's face, that, in and of itself, came off as nothing more complicated than the notion that, as with any animal, it would naturally make him angry. Moreover, Godzilla's following the flares and then heading back to Osaka when the industrial complex is set ablaze could also be just animalistic curiosity, especially since the flares end up attracting Anguirus to Osaka as well. Speaking of Anguirus, he's very much the aggressor in his and Godzilla's skirmishes, both when they're first seen on Iwato Island and when he shows up in Osaka to continue the fight. 

The defensive nature of this Godzilla continues on through the last act. When the military attacks him on Kamiko Island, he, yet again, isn't bothering anybody and only attacks and kills some people, including Kobayashi, because he feels threatened or annoyed. While we're told he destroyed one of the tuna company's fishing boats, we never actually see this, so who knows what happened? Maybe they accidentally rammed into Godzilla or vice versa. As a result, the finale, where he's buried in snow and ice, feels downright cruel. Finally, there's the question of how exactly is this Godzilla related

to the first one? While there's no definitive answer given, I personally like to think he's his brother and that the two of them were together when the atomic bomb changed them, owing to Dr. Yamane's theory in the original film that the first Godzilla was living in deep, underwater caverns, possibly with others of his species. They probably got separated when the bomb blew them out of their home and they went in different directions, with the first Godzilla taking up residence near Odo Island, while this one did so near Iwato Island, having no idea that the recently awakened and aggressive Anguirus was residing near there as well.

Because they knew Godzilla would be battling another monster this time around, the technicians and craftsmen modified the suit (the first of many, many times this would be done throughout the series' history) to allow Haruo Nakajima more freedom of movement and agility. It works pretty well, as this Godzilla moves more fluidly and quicker than the first one did, and during the battle, Nakajima performs in a rather animal-like manner, no doubt inspired by what he observed when he visited the zoo during the making of the first film. This initial style of monster battling may not be as

entertaining as the anthropomorphic, wrestling match-like battles Godzilla would get into later but, for realism's sake, it does help him and Anguirus come across as two enormous animals duking it out. However, practicality aside, I'm not a fan of this design. It's similar in look to the suit in the first film but has some modifications that I do not care for. First off, while I get that they had to remove a lot of the mass so Nakajima could move about more freely, Godzilla looks way too thin. Later suits would also be pretty thin but they would still have a little bit of heft to them; he looks downright

anorexic. But what I dislike even more than is the head. From the side, it looks okay, but when you look at it straight on, it looks awkward, with eyebrows that are too big and a face that's very cat-like, especially with those ears (that cat-like aesthetic would return and be pulled off far more effectively decades later in the "Heisei" series of films). The spines and other details are okay and, as much as I may not care for this suit, I'd gladly take it over the awful-looking puppet heads used throughout the film, as those things are just terrible. Not only are they so fake that they hurt even my suspension of disbelief but they're just hideous, especially from the front, with their nasty-looking, crooked teeth and big, dead-looking, expressionless eyes.

One thing I was always curious about is whether this Godzilla started out with the deep, threatening roar his relative had in the original film or if, since he was a new monster altogether, if this was the introduction of the high-pitched screech that has since become Godzilla's most well-known vocalization; turns out, it's the former. In actuality, of the two main roars from the first film, he only uses a less intimidating version of the howl, while you never hear that snarling, angry growl. He primarily uses the roars that sounded like a loud snort and a deep bark, as well as a roar that would later become his main one in the first few films of the Heisei series. And even though it's not as final a defeat for him, he does let out that same "death" cry when he's almost completely buried in the ice. There's also not a major change in his atomic breath, which is created about equally on set and through animation. However, it is notable that this is the one film where his spines don't glow when he fires it.

If Godzilla Raids Again can be given any sort of major credit, it's for introducing the concept of giant monsters battling each other, thus leading to the introduction of Toho's second kaiju creation and fan favorite, Anguirus. My step-cousin, who I mentioned in my Godzilla introduction post, absolutely loved Anguirus when we were kids, declaring him his favorite monster outside of Godzilla himself (he might've even liked him more). Personally, I've always thought Anguirus was okay but I've never been that crazy about him, mostly because, as we'll see when we get into the later movies, he tends to get his ass kicked. In any case, while he and Godzilla would become very close allies in later years, they're bitter enemies here, mainly due to Anguirus' aggressive nature. You can think of him as a vicious dog defending his backyard, one who's so territorial that he'll go after others even when they're nowhere near said backyard (trust me, I know that from experience), as is the case with the battle in Osaka. When we first see the monsters, they're already in a scuffle, with Godzilla fending off Anguirus until the two of them end up tumbling into the ocean. Later on, Anguirus shows up in Osaka, having been attracted by the flares that were originally meant to lure Godzilla out to sea, and upon seeing his old foe, goes on the attack again, resuming the battle. Despite what I said about Anguirus often getting the crap beaten out of him in later movies, he proves to be a formidable foe here and doesn't go down easily. He's pretty relentless in how he just keeps coming at Godzilla, grappling with him, biting and scratching him, and lunging at him. This tenacity is now seen as a signature part of his character, but it's also his downfall here, as Godzilla is eventually able to overpower and seemingly kill him (whether or not the Anguirus that appears in the later films and becomes Godzilla's ally is this one is never made clear). 

It's also interesting to note how Godzilla's battles would later serve as the movies' big, thrilling climaxes but his major battle with Anguirus here takes place in the middle of the film and ends with him profoundly defeating him and moving on. Also, later films would typically have at least two battles, with the first being somewhere in the middle, like this one, making it feel in retrospect that Anguirus got the shaft and was never allowed to have his true, climactic fight with Godzilla. In actuality, it's like just a byproduct of this being the introduction of the formula, which they would continue to refine in the next film, King Kong vs. Godzilla, and ultimately perfect in Mothra vs. Godzilla and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

Anguirus' design is almost as classic as Godzilla's. He's based on the dinosaur known as Ankylosaurus and is even referred to as such initially, with "Anguirus" mentioned as an alternate name. But, like Godzilla, he's actually a mixture of different types of dinosaurs. Like his namesake, he's four-legged and heavily armored, with his main line of defense being his tough hide (which, along with his head, is strong enough to resist Godzilla's atomic breath, for the most part), but the horns on top of his head and the large one on the tip of his nose are akin to a Triceratops and Styracosaurus. Also, a

normal Ankylosaurus had a fairly flat face, whereas Anguirus' is much more narrow and pointed, like a crocodile, and unlike the plant-eating dinosaur he's based on, Anguirus is definitely a carnivore, given the sharp, jagged teeth in his mouth. While Ankylosaurs had bony plates on their backs, Anguirus has something akin to a bony shell that's covered in short, sharp spikes and, instead of a tail club (although he would get one in Godzilla: Final Wars), his tail is covered in more spikes, with one sticking out of the tip. Speaking of

the shell, there are a lot of stills where it looks as if the bottom half has been torn free from the body and is hanging off. When I saw those images as a kid, I always wondered if that was some kind of injury Anguirus suffered during the fight but, as it turns out, that was an initial design concept that was dropped because the shell kept falling off during filming. It's also stated in this film that Anguirus' brain extends down into his chest and abdominal areas and is why he's able to move and react so quickly, despite his size. However, as cool as his look is, Anguirus' roar has always gotten on my nerves, as it's this loud, honking noise (actually a modified saxophone) with a very whiny texture to it, leading me to joke that he's the whiniest monster ever.

For one of the more popular of Toho's kaiju, Anguirus' name is one of constant debate, as no one can agree how it's supposed to be properly pronounced. His constant renaming from the original Japanese to the English language versions hasn't helped, either, as in many of those versions refer to him as "Anguilus," which was Toho's original English name, to be pronounced as either "an-gee-lus" or "an-gu-lus." In the American version of this film, he's called "an-gur-rus," although the trailers and TV spots for that version referred to him as "an-gore-rus." The whole time we were kids, Mikey and I pronounced his name "an-gware-rus," as that was the pronounciation we heard that seemed the closest to his official name, as we learned from the Godzilla Compendium. It was until I was fourteen and played the GameCube game, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, that I heard his name pronounced as "an-gear-rus," which is what I then started calling him and have ever since. Basically, there's no one accepted way to pronounce his name, so just call him whatever is easiest for you and leave it at.

Anguirus is played by Katsumi Tezuka, a stuntman who was twenty-plus years older than Haruo Nakajima and who'd assisted in portraying Godzilla in the first film, although Nakajima always maintained that everything in the final movie was his work alone. Regardless, Tezuka definitely rose to the task of playing Anguirus and excelled at acting like an aggressive animal that's ready to attack anything and everything that moves. In fact, Tezuka moves very skillfully and swiftly during the battles, which is especially impressive when you take into account that, in

order to simulate the feel of large creatures, the actors had to do everything faster normal so it would look natural when the over-cranked film was played back at normal speed. It really makes me wonder if Nakajima was telling the truth when he said Tezuka wasn't up to the rigors of acting in the Godzilla suit, as I would think playing Anguirus would be even more physically demanding, since you'd have to get down on all fours and come across as naturally animalistic while moving. Moreover, when the Godzilla and Anguirus suits were sent over to Hollywood to be used in a film that ended up not being made, those who saw it firsthand said the latter was so heavy they couldn't even take it out of the crate it was shipped in. So, it sounds like Tezuka was actually more than able to work inside heavy, hot suits. However, he would beg out of it by the mid-sixties due to his age and act as an advisor afterward.

Given the time crunch they were under, it's impressive that Eiji Tsuburaya and his team were able to pull off as many effects shots and sequences as they did; even more so is how most of them still look really good. The miniatures and models are, once again, very well designed, with the miniature set of Osaka being the highlight, especially the model of Osaka Castle that Godzilla smashes Anguirus through. The set for Kamiko Island, some of which was constructed outdoors, also looks quite good and the black-and-white enhances the beauty of the snow that covers it. The optical

and matting effects used to place Godzilla, Anguirus, and other elements in the same shots as fleeing extras are just as convincing as they were before, with a particularly impressive one being of extras running away from a burning industrial complex, with the fire spreading towards an enormous fuel tank that then explodes. There's another effective optical showing a trio of the escaped convicts getting swept away by a flood of water down in a subway. And, overall, they also do a good job of shooting the monsters in a manner that makes them come off as gigantic. But, for all

the good that's here, there are times where you can see the repercussions of the short schedule they had. The most well-known technical error consists of several instances during the battle where Godzilla and Anguirus move in a very fast, kinetic manner, the result of a camera being set at the wrong speed. They didn't have the time or money to re-film it, and I've heard that, initially, Tsuburaya, who was an extreme perfectionist, wasn't too thrilled, but later decided it might still work. Also, like with Godzilla, there are some less

than stellar puppet heads for Anguirus, and the close-ups of them biting at each other are just above an average puppet show. Another bad effect involving Godzilla himself can be seen in several shots of him on Kamiko Island at the beginning of the final act, where you see him standing completely still, not moving at all. Like James Rolfe said in his Godzilla-thon review series, it looks like they just filmed some footage of that classic Godzilla toy I showed you in my introduction. It was actually a prop that was 

supposed to move via a windup motor but ended up not working, so they just decided to film it motionless, I guess so as not to waste the effort of making it. And finally, while the models of the military vehicles, fighter jets, and battleships look good for the most part, there are some extremely wonky shots of one of the jets moving from right to left but while staying in a fixed sideways angle, as if it's being pulled across on a wire, which was probably the case.

The first major scene (if you can call it that) takes place just over eight minutes into the movie, when Tsukioka meets up with Kobayashi on Iwato Island after he was forced to land there due to engine trouble. The two of them talk for a bit while warming themselves around a campfire, when they suddenly shift from jovial and laughing to dead serious and creeped out (I don't know why, as they haven't heard or seen anything yet). The two of them slowly stand and, as Tsukioka looks up, we hear Godzilla's roar, prompting Kobayashi to look

up and let out a frightened yell. Godzilla's head is then shown looming over one side of the large chasm behind them and they promptly run in there to hide. We then get a small glimpse of Anguirus as the two monsters begin to scuffle, while Tsukioka identifies one of them as Godzilla. Looking directly above them, they then see a bit of the small fight going on, before attempting to take cover and shield themselves from the falling debris. Once the chunks of rock stop falling around them, Anguirus' honking call is heard for the first and we get a wide shot of him and Godzilla facing off in front of the

chasm's mouth, with Anguirus quickly bounding ahead and getting right in front of Godzilla. Tsukioka and Kobayashi watch the monsters grapple with each other for a few more seconds, before they fall off the edge of the nearby cliff and into the ocean, allowing the men to make a run for Tsukioka's plane and escape.

At first, it seems as though Godzilla, despite his projected path, as determined by the Air Force and Navy, may actually be turning away from Osaka. The resulting levity doesn't last long, though, as while Tsukioka and Hidemi are dancing in a nightclub, a security announcement comes over the loudspeaker, reporting that he's now heading for Osaka Bay. As the club is evacuated (not at all calmly, despite the announcer's request), a blackout is imposed upon the city and it's immediately plunged into total darkness, as the Air Force heads 

towards the bay to drop the flares meant to lure Godzilla away. At the same time, the military sets up a defense line in case the flares don't work. A bright, glowing light signifies Godzilla's arrival, followed by a rather eerie shot of him sticking his head out of the water in the distance, diving back under to move in closer, and sticking his head out again. The fighter jets release their flares into the air as he heads for shore, while the military prepare for a possible battle. He spots the flares and stares at them for a long time, as various districts of

Osaka are evacuated, with Tsukioka driving Hidemi to her home. Godzilla then turns and starts following the flares and the jets out to sea, knocking a lighthouse over with his tail in the process (a possible nod to The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms). Everyone is naturally relieved to see that he's leaving, while elsewhere, Kobayashi meets up with Tsukioka and Hidemi at the latter's house. He tells Tsukioka that Yamajia went down to the cannery and Tsukioka opts to join him, leaving Hidemi alone and advising her to run to the nearby mountains should anything happen (yeah, real solid

advice). The two men drive off, and as she stands outside her house's gates, Hidemi overhears an announcement that the flares have worked but, just to be safe, the blackout is to continue for now. At the cannery, Yamaji watches the flares, when he's told that Godzilla has been successfully lured away. He breathes a sigh of relief like everyone else and notes, "It seems Osaka has escaped destruction." 

Of course, he spoke too soon, as trouble is brewing nearby. We're introduced to a group of convicts being transported in a prison bus and they clearly have something planned, nudging each other and giving knowing looks. They very easily manage to knock out the two guards in the back with them, with one prisoner standing up in front of the window to the front and stretching, luring the guards to the center when they try to make him sit down. After telling the driver that one of the prisoners had "another seizure," they take and use

one of the guard's pistol to shoot out the back door's lock. The bus pulls over and the criminals jump out and run for it. The four guards chase after them, managing to shoot one in the leg and capture him along with two others, but another three manage to elude them and commandeer a gasoline tanker truck. At that moment, the guards appear in time to watch them drive off, when Tsukioka and Kobayashi happen to show up. The guards stop them and tell them to follow the truck, climbing into the backseat. This leads into, as I said before,

what could be the slowest and most unexciting car chase ever, as both vehicles just poke along the roads as if they were turtles, and it doesn't pick up even when a police car joins in. It leads into an industrial complex, where the criminals crash the gasoline truck because... well, I don't know why they crash. They're just going along, when they make a turn, their pursuers stop and watch, and randomly, they start screaming and go right through a barrier that says NO SMOKING, bound up, bounce, and then come down hard enough to cause the gasoline tank to explode. Were they too stupid to know that, in order to stop a moving vehicle, you have to hit the brake?

You'd think Godzilla would be so far out to sea by this point that he would have no way of seeing the flames that engulf the complex but, no, we then see him turn his head (a tight close-up that's unsettling because of how ugly that puppet head is) and spot it. Judging from his POV and a shot afterward where he turns back around, the fighter jets, during all this time, managed to lure him only about thirty feet from where he was initially, if that. Letting out a roar, he turns and heads back for the city, now totally ignoring the

flares. The military fires on him with their missile launchers and tanks as he comes ashore, and the fighter jets also join in the attack. As per usual, Godzilla isn't fazed by this, as he just stands there and looks around, seeming more curious and confused than anything else. He does, however, blast one fighter jet with his atomic breath, sending it crashing into the bay. Tsukioka and Kobayashi watch the action from the cannery with Yamaji, who then looks through his binoculars and exclaims, "What's that?!" Anguirus, whom

Tsukioka and Kobayashi quickly recognize, comes ashore at the same spot as Godzilla and, ignoring the military, which is firing on him now, trumpets a challenge. Godzilla immediately goes on the defensive upon seeing his rival, snarling and turning to face him, while inadvertently crushing some warehouses and toppling some moored ships with his tail when he does. With the military firing on them, the two monsters rush each other and the fight is on. As I said before, there isn't much to say, as all Godzilla and Anguirus really do is continuously struggle with each other, while the

soldiers on the front line run for it. You see them bite and scratch at each other, with Anguirus trying to bite Godzilla's hand and then going for his neck, while Godzilla blasts Anguirus right in the face with his atomic breath, which doesn't seem to affect him at all. The fire has now spread to other parts of the port and has engulfed the cannery. Tsukioka and the others attempt to convince Yamaji that they need to evacuated, while Godzilla and Anguirus battle amidst the factory complex, with the fire continuing to rage out of control behind them. It causes a large fuel tank to explode,

horrifying Yamaji, and a brief cutaway to Hidemi at her home has her looking out the window, watching the huge, mushroom cloud-like plume of smoke as it rises into the sky. She then sits down, obviously concerned for both Tsukioka and her father's safety.

Having thoroughly destroyed the industrial complex, the monsters start to move out into the residential areas. They face off, roaring challenges at each other, and Godzilla does his first ever battle stance, before he and Anguirus resume their fight. At one point in their struggling, Anguirus manages to get Godzilla on the ground and, when he gets back up, he goes for his throat again. They continue clawing and grappling with each other, as the fire department is deployed to deal with the inferno. Three of the convicts from before, who

managed to elude the police, watch as the two of them plow through a large building, before Anguirus, again, manages to momentarily get Godzilla on the ground. The convicts try to escape the mayhem, only to find themselves only a few feet from the battle, sending them running in the other direction and down into the subway. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they virtually collapse on the floor, trying to catch their breaths, thinking they're safe. But, at that moment, Godzilla and Anguirus fall into a river canal, causing a tidal

wave that floods the lower sections of the town, including down in the subway. The criminals try to escape but don't get very far before the water catches and drowns them. The military headquarters also have to be evacuated, as the battle is getting close to them. After everyone gets out safely, they watch as Godzilla and Anguirus' fight takes them close to Osaka Castle. They briefly circle each other before continuing to battle, destroying a number of pagodas around them. As they get right in front of the castle and grapple in

the moat, Godzilla begins to gain the upper-hand and overpower Anguirus, whose cries become more of pain than of challenge and tenacity. He sinks his teeth right into Anguirus' neck and refuses to let go, as he screams and honks in pain. Osaka Castle begins to crumble (supposedly due to the supersonice properties of Anguirus' wailing, according to supplemental materials) and falls to pieces when Godzilla shoves Anguirus right through it. Anguirus, realizing he's outmatched, tries to run away, but Godzilla isn't having it. He chases him down and bites into his neck again,

digging his teeth into the flesh until blood starts to ooze out (obviously, since it's black and white, it's not that gruesome, but you wouldn't see actual blood in a Godzilla movie again for a long time). He then pushes Anguirus down into the shallows of the moat behind him and, once he stops moving and collapses, finishes him off by setting him ablaze with his atomic breath (now, suddenly, he's vulnerable to it). And here's a grisly little detail: if you look at the base of Anguirus' tail after he's been set on fire, you can see it move just a bit before going still, indicating that Godzilla burned

him alive. The fire then spreads to many of the surrounding buildings and soon, much of the Osaka skyline is in flames. The film cuts back to Hidemi, who watches on television the aftermath of the battle, while the newscaster reports that Godzilla, satisfied with his victory, is heading back out to sea. (All in all, it's not bad for Godzilla's first battle, but, again, it does get a little monotonous when all they do is struggle, bite, and claw at each other, despite how fun it is to see them crush so many buildings.)

The rather lackluster finale begins when, after it's reported that Godzilla destroyed one of the company's fishing vessels, Tsukioka joins the Air Force in searching for him. After continuing on with it, despite Hidemi warning him of bad weather, he eventually spots Godzilla heading towards Kamiko Island. He radios it in and intends on following him, but since he only has just enough fuel to make it back to base, Kobayashi tells him to let him take over while he returns and refuels. As the Air Force pilots prepare to load up with bombs and depart, Tsukioka continues circling

above Godzilla, who's come ashore on the island. Kobayashi then arrives and relieves him. After he returns to base, Tsukioka uses a chalk diagram to show the pilots that their best bet is to seal off the inlet Godzilla swam through and trap him. The commander comes up with a plan to create a fire fence on the shore and, after he orders Ikeda to load up the landing craft with gasoline, with Tajima leading the air squadron, they depart for Kamiko Island. Kobayashi continues circling Godzilla, who watches him while turning in the direction of the ocean. Kobayashi flies in very close to his head in

order to distract him but, even so, he still begins to head back to the ocean. Kobayashi radios that they need the Defense Forces and Hidemi radios back that they're on the way. As they approach, he, once again, buzzes by Godzilla's head, distracting him long enough for the fighter jets to arrive and begin the attack. The jets drop their payloads of bombs all around Godzilla but, like before, it's more of a nuisance than a threat, and all he does is glance and turn around at the explosions going off around him. Both the fighter pilots and Kobayashi

realize the attack isn't doing anything and so, the latter, in frustration, flies at him yet again. This time, though, Godzilla's patience runs out and he blasts the plane with his atomic breath. With his wing on fire, Kobayashi tries to fly up to safety but is unable to gain enough altitude and crashes into the side of the mountain, horrifying Tsukioka, who's flying as Tajima's copilot. The crash, however, rains down tons of ice and snow, catching the attention of both the pilots and Godzilla. Realizing the possibility, Tsukioka tells Tajima

that's the way to defeat him. Tajima then orders his squadron to bomb the mountainside but, after bombing for only for a little bit, they decide missiles would work better and return to base to reload, while the battleships stay behind to keep Godzilla from leaving.

Back at headquarters, Tajima creates a chalk diagram to show the pilots the best way to create an effective avalanche, while also avoiding Godzilla's atomic breath and crashing into the mountaintop. Upon hearing that the missiles have been loaded, they prepare to take off again. Tsukioka asks to rejoin them, this time in his own fighter jet, and when the commander tells him he'll be taking a great risk, he says he's ready to do it. Meanwhile, Godzilla struggles to free himself from the ice he's almost totally buried in (why doesn't he just melt it with his atomic breath?), as three

battleships arrive at the shore, deploying landing parties with gasoline drums to create the barrier of fire the commander ordered them to earlier. (Now Godzilla doesn't like fire, when earlier, he was attracted to it, in addition to bright lights. Lack of consistency, anyone?) Godzilla gradually manages to extricate himself from the ice, as the soldiers slowly but surely roll the gasoline barrels into place under Ikeda's command. Worrying that the air squadron is taking too long to get back, and seeing that Godzilla is almost completely free, Ikeda quickly orders everyone back onboard the

ship. The soldiers clumsily run through the snow, tripping and falling as they do, as Godzilla plows through the remaining bit of ice. They all make it back on the ships and move away from the shore, as a single plane flies in to try to distract Godzilla in the same way Kobayashi did. One battleship then uses its turret guns to ignite the gasoline barrels and, sure enough, Godzilla refuses to go near the flames and remains in the center of the island. The air squadron arrives and thus, begins a long, drawn-out battle where they continuously fly over Godzilla and fire their missiles into the

mountainsides, sending wave after wave of ice and snow tumbling down towards him, gradually building up around and encasing his body (it's very similar to the climax of Rodan, released the following year, but Ishiro Honda managed to make it all the more effective and less monotonous). Godzilla manages to blast several jets with his atomic breath but, like Kobayashi, they end up crashing into the mountainside and adding to the avalanche. He also catches one jet in his hand and throws it to the ground, while another simply

crashes into the mountainside when it's unable to make a steep climb, but, for the most part, the battle is a series of explosions along the mountains and shots of ice and snow raining down the sides. As Godzilla gets buried up to his head and lets out the same mournful cry as his predecessor in the previous film, I feel downright bad for him because, as I've said, it felt like he never intentionally caused any death or destruction here, save for possibly that fishing vessel. He tries to stop another wave of ice with his atomic breath but

it doesn't seem to work at all, probably because he's now too weakened by the cold. Swooping down in his own fighter jet, Tsukioka makes one last pass over Godzilla's head and fires at the mountainside again, triggering the avalanche that fully buries him. Seeing this, Tsukioka, with tears in his eyes, tells Kobayashi that they've won before flying back home, ending the movie.

Like Ishiro Honda, composer Akira Ifukube wasn't available and so, Toho hired fledgling composer Masaru Sato. Sato had studied under Fumio Hayasaka, Akira Kurosawa's initial go-to composer at the time, at Toho, and when Hayasaka suddenly died in 1955, Sato was assigned to finish the scores for two films he was working at the time. One of those films happened to be Kurosawa's latest, leading to Sato himself scoring all of Kurosawa's films for the next decade. Significantly, Godzilla Raids Again was Sato's first wholly original film score but, unfortunately, his inexperience is quite evident, something he himself later admitted to. He would return to the Godzilla series later in the Showa era, composing scores that were very catchy, bouncy, lush, and fun to listen to, especially his last one, but his first crack at it, like Godzilla Raids Again itself, is pretty standard and so-so, although not bad music, by any means. The opening title theme, which is played many times throughout the film, often during the searches for Godzilla and the military deployments, has a memorably adventurous sound to it, although it also has this descending horn in the middle of it that's unintentionally funny. The monsters' theme is pretty typical of the genre, as it tries to create menace with a lumbering sound played on low, low strings (I won't lie, though; it is effective in some shots, like when Godzilla is moving in on Osaka), but it's still among the more memorable parts of the score. That's more than I can say for the very light, soft music Sato creates for scenes like when Tsukioka is talking to Hidemi and when Kobayashi is trying to find some gifts for his would-be bride or the music that's meant to accentuate the devastation caused by Osaka. The climactic battle at the end is mostly done without score, although there are sporadic pieces of music that pop up, but they're not that memorable. Like I said, though, I do like the bit of score that closes out the movie, and I'll also say that the song that Tsukioka and Hidemi dance to in the nightclub, performed by Miyoko Hoshino, is very beautiful, with a sweet, peaceful sound to it.

At the end of the day, Godzilla Raids Again has all the signs of a quickie sequel whose purpose was just to cash in on the success of its parent. While it is a significant film in that it introduced the concept of giant monsters battling each other, on the whole, it's very forgettable and fairly boring, with a bland cast of characters, bad pacing, long stretches where nothing interesting happens, action scenes that are tedious and repetitive when they should be exciting, a lackluster climax, and a fairly standard and mostly unmemorable music score. On the plus side, it is competently and efficiently made, there are some good points during the otherwise tedious action scenes, the battle between Godzilla and Anguirus, while not spectacular, is definitely the highlight, there are a number of special effects and miniature sets that are fairly impressive, especially given the movie's rushed nature, and the characters are certainly not unlikable. The movie also deserves some slack in that Toho hadn't yet perfected or even really thought of the possibilities of the monster battle format. But, regardless, it's not a very fun movie and it leaves little wonder as to why Godzilla wasn't seen onscreen again for seven years.

Gigantis, the Fire Monster

Those who feel that Godzilla, King of the Monsters is a disgraceful bastardization of the first film have obviously never witnessed the sheer insanity and incompetence that is Gigantis, the Fire Monster. Say what you will about King of the Monsters but, at the very least, the people behind that had some modicum of respect for the film they were Americanizing and only made changes necessary to make it easier for American audiences of the time to accept; Gigantis, on the other hand, was made by a bunch of dumbasses. Seriously, if you saw this version and had no idea how radically different it was from the Japanese version, you'd think the people at Toho were fucking retarded! This thing has it all: overbearing, pointless narration, bad dubbing, nonsensical dialogue, an egregious amount of needless stock footage that adds nothing to the plot, and an air of incompetency that has never been matched, except by maybe the worst of those really badly dubbed kung-fu movies. As I said at the beginning of this review, Godzilla Raids Again is the only Godzilla movie from the Showa era that I never saw as a kid, and I first learned of it from the Crestwood House monster book on Godzilla. Even though I recognized both Godzilla and Anguirus from the pictures the book showed while discussing Gigantis, I assumed in my childhood naivety that the people who wrote it knew what they were talking about and went along with the idea that this monster was actually Gigantis, and that it was female, as the book said (even though there's nothing here to suggest that). Although, I do remember being confused when it said that people quickly realized this was the sequel to Godzilla. It wasn't until years later, when I read the Godzilla Compendium, that I this was indeed the second Godzilla film and that its official international English title was Godzilla Raids Again. I also got my first sense of the ludicrous adaptation process this film went through when it was brought over to America, but I wouldn't fully realize just how badly butchered it was until I saw documentary specials on Godzilla and read books such as Godzilla On My Mind. When the film finally came to DVD, I mainly stuck to the original Japanese version and only watched the Gigantis version with Steve Ryfle's entertaining audio commentary (which I encourage you to go listen to, because it's a hoot, but you'll have to hold onto the Classic Media DVD to do so). Finally, in late 2013, I mustered up the courage to actually watch this version and it was just as dumbfounding as I figured it would be... actually, it may have been a little bit worse. Bottom line, Godzilla Raids Again might not be a classic but this version? Whew, where do I begin?!

A little history lesson is in order to understand how this whole thing came to be. The rights to Godzilla Raids Again were initially bought by a small studio called AB-PT Productions who, rather than merely creating an American dub for the film, intended to take the special effects footage featuring Godzilla and Anguirus and build a completely new story around it. The planned film, titled The Volcano Monsters, was to have portrayed the kaiju simply as dinosaurs, with the filmmakers planning to cut all shots of Godzilla using his atomic breath and re-edit the footage to make them look about as big as normal dinosaurs. They also intended to shoot some new special effects shots of their own and thus, Toho sent them the Godzilla and Anguirus suits, something they'd done before for the American version of their 1955 film, The Abominable Snowman, called Half Human. Ultimately, the film, which was intended for a 1957 release, was never made, as AB-PT Productions fell apart that very year (however, many elements from the script written for the film were used years later in the 1962 monster film, Reptilicus). In 1958, Paul Schreibman, an entertainment lawyer and occasional producer who was involved with Godzilla, King of the Monsters, having acted as a go-between for Toho and the American filmmakers, bought the rights to Godzilla Raids Again in order to have it dubbed for American audiences. You'd think that would have been a rather simple task but, as often happens in Hollywood, it ended up becoming more complicated than it should have been.

The big question is, "Why change Godzilla's name to Gigantis?" There are two possible reasons for this, with the more sensible one being that Warner Bros., the distributor of this version, couldn't get the rights to the name "Godzilla" from Joseph E. Levine. However, given that Paul Schreibman himself was involved with the Americanization of the original film, as well as that Levine only had distribution rights, that seems unlikely. Therefore, we have to ponder the other, infinitely more nonsensical reason, which, sadly, seems to be the truth, as there's evidence to back this up, including statements from the man himself. Apparently, Schreibman, for some ungodly reason, decided he wanted to give people the impression that this was not Godzilla but a different monster altogether. Now, think about that for a second: Godzilla, King of the Monsters had been a substantial success when it was released in 1956, garnering over $2 million, and had put Godzilla on the map in America, as well as introduced him to the world at large, and yet, this guy, who had been involved with that film, decides he doesn't want people to know this movie is a sequel. To that end, he renames the monster Gigantis and does a lot of tinkering with his roar, even though people knew what Godzilla was, seeing as how King of the Monsters was released only three years before. Schreibman died in 2001 at the age of 92 but, even so, I still have to ask this question: "Mr. Schreibman, were you insane, or just stupid?" Seriously, only the nutso ideas Jon Peters comes up with rivals this kind of idiocy. And Schreibman was not a humble guy at all, as he took sole credit for discovering Godzilla, getting the American version of the first film made, and said that Toho owed him everything (Steve Ryfle plays an audio clip from an interview he conducted with Schreibman back in the 90's during his and Ed Godziszewski's audio commentary on Classic Media's DVD release of Godzilla, King of the Monsters, so you can go there for confirmation). Maybe he was part of the reason why Toho got more recognition in America, since he acted as an entertainment lawyer for them, but the ego that guy had, especially after making such an idiotic decision like this, is mind-boggling and somebody should have let him know during his lifetime that he needed to eat a big slice of humble pie.

It's very tempting to say that Gigantis is so bad it's good, and I will say that some of the bizarre and atrociously bad dubbing and plotting can make you laugh from the sheer absurdity. But, on the whole, it's a mind-numbing and downright irritating viewing experience, as opposed to the just bland and fairly boring Japanese version. A big reason for that is because, as Steve Ryfle mentions in his audio commentary, while the Japanese version has long periods of silence, this film literally never shuts up. It starts with a pointless prologue where a melodramatic narrator (Marvin Miller) tells us about the creation of mechanical monsters (i.e.

nuclear weapons, as well as missiles and rockets, in general), man's obsession with exploring the vast reaches of the universe, and how there may be sinister secrets not yet discovered on Earth, all accompanied by archival footage of nuclear explosions, rockets blasting off into space, and animation of stars, galaxies, and planets. After that, the opening credits begin, playing over footage seen during the battle between Godzilla and Anguirus in Osaka later in the film, and set to some loud, overbearing stock music, which is something you'd better get used to. While we're on the subject of the credits, I'd like to point out that a lot of the

names are misspelled. This wasn't an uncommon mistake in the Americanizations of Japanese monster movies (Ishiro Honda's name often got misspelled as "Inoshiro Honda") but it's very egregious here: among the more memorable are Mindru Chiaki (Minoru Chiaki), Shigem Kayama (original story-writer Shigeru Kayama), and Eliji Tsuburaya (Eiji Tsuburaya). Okay, to be fair, those spelling aren't that far off, but then, you come to director Motoyoshi Oda's name, which is written as, "Motoyoshi Qdq." At first, I thought it was spelled "Odo," which would have been forgivable, but, upon looking at it closer, it is indeed spelled as, "Qdq." Exactly how are you supposed to

pronounce that? Maybe they figured audiences don't pay much attention to credits, especially not to those of a Japanese monster movie. Also, later home video releases of the film, including the print used by Classic Media for their DVD release, digitally replaced the Gigantis, the Fire Monster title with the English international title of Godzilla Raids Again, as if they were trying to somehow fix the pointlessness of that re-titling. Given how Godzilla is still referred to as Gigantis, regardless, they likely ended up making it even more confusing.

After the opening credits, we're introduced to Tsukioka via narration, a function that he will serve in an overdone, redundant manner throughout the entire film. Keye Luke, who dubs Tsukioka, probably gave himself laryngitis, as he talks and talks and talks and talks, describing everything in excruciating detail, even when you can simply look at the screen to get what's going on. He says, "I picked up my intercom," and we see him do so. He says, "From headquarters to our ship went the message," while we're watching one of the female radio operators send said message via Morse code. After Godzilla and Anguirus fall into the water

near Iwato Island, Tsukioka informs us that, "We dashed out of our hiding place, through the rocky cavern, as the monsters still fought underwater, creating a spout of bubbling foam," as we see the very scene he describes. But it doesn't stop there. Tsukioka also feels the need to describe emotions in such florid detail that it makes you roll your eyes. When it seems as if Godzilla (I'm not calling him Gigantis) will bypass Osaka, Tsukioka tells us, as we watch of montage of the Osaka night life, "The city was relieved by the news. A spirit of celebration came over everyone. They went out and danced and generally made merry at all the

nightclubs and restaurants. It was as though a national holiday had been declared. All the shows in town did sellout business as people flocked to their favorite places of amusement. Joy was everywhere. At the international club, the word went around: 'Everyone forget your troubles! Enjoy yourselves! There is nothing to worry about! Life is wonderful again!' Hidemi and I felt that way too, when we went dancing at our favorite nightclub." And when Godzilla turns around and heads back towards Osaka? "The siren announced to the entire city that the alert was on. The blackout had begun. Overhead, a squadron of planes moved into readiness. It was no different from war. On the

streets, mobile units began taking up their positions. The ominous drones of planes overhead gave us all a feeling of the size of the operation. This would be no easy battle. Petty problems at the moment were forgotten. How many casualties would there be before it was over? No one dared guess." And here's one more for good measure, which comes upon the reveal of the aftermath of Godzilla and Anguirus' battle: "There it was: a city of total devastation. Everywhere, destruction and ruin. This was a place where people had spent their lives in happiness. Now, it was a smoking cemetery, filled with charred memories. As the doctor and his branch foreman, Shibeki, surveyed

the wreckage, they were likewise filled with anguish. It was a sight to crush the hearts of men." This is what it's like through 90% of the film: "Blah, blah, blah, Captain Obvious dialogue. Blah, blah, blah, overdone narration more worthy of an audio book than a movie." And when the narration isn't droning on, either another character or a batch of bad stock music is, making for total sensory overload.

As overwhelming as Keye Luke's narration is, his is hardly the only case of poor dubbing. Kobayashi, (who's dubbed by either Daws Butler, who famously went on to voice Yogi Bear, or Marvin Miller, the opening narrator; different sources list one or the other), is given a comical, oafish voice that makes Mel Blanc's Barney Rubble voice sound cultured and dignified by comparison. I guess since Kobayashi is a little heavyset, they decided this voice would be more fitting, which is both narrow-minded and insulting. And even if that was their thinking, was it necessary to make him sound like a bumbling idiot with a dopey laugh? Besides just

being stereotypical, it also hurts the impact of his death a little bit (not that there was much there, anyway). Speaking of Kobayashi, they removed a lot of the material concerning his search for a bride, with it only being mentioned for the first time during the company party (although the redundant scene where he asks Hidemi what women want is still present). On the flip side, however, Tsukioka's self-doubt about his courage, which was only mentioned in a passing bit of dialogue in the Japanese version, is emphasized and expanded upon tenfold here. He constantly brings it up, like when he says the reason he's taking part in dangerous operations like the search

for Godzilla and the climactic battle on Kamiko Island is because he feels he's been a coward long enough, and he even ends the film by stating that Kobayashi's sacrifice had taught him the meaning of courage. And, like Kobayashi's search for love, the notion of Tsukioka's courage doesn't amount to anything in the long run. Also, in this version, Tajima and the others are said to have been in the same air corps as Tsukioka, while in the Japanese version, they were simply college buddies. That's not at all that significant but I just thought it was something interesting to note.

Besides Keye Luke, other notable actors did dub work for this film. I've already mentioned Marvin Miller, who'd been the voice of Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet. Veteran actor Paul Frees, who had one of the most recognizable voices in American entertainment, provides the dubbing for the character of Yamaji (who, inexplicably, has the title of doctor here, even though he's the president of the fishery), along with other incidental characters. And speaking of incidental, if you listen closely, especially when the intercom comes on, you should recognize a very unmistakable voice: that of George Takei, who did some of his first work as a dub actor (you can also hear his voice in the American version of Rodan, which was released in America in 1957 and featured many of the same voices heard here).

Besides the voices and the smothering narration, another reason why the dub job here is a massive fail is the dialogue itself, which can range from idiotic to completely nonsensical. Here are some examples, and let me make it clear that I'm not just messing with you; all of this is uttered by the dub actors. At the beginning of the film, after Tsukioka suggests to Hidemi that they go out dancing that night, the other female radio operator tells her, "Someday, I'm going to be loved like that. Take me?" Hidemi replies, "Ha, ha, ha, I can't. Get your own guy," and the other woman randomly says, "Kiss me again. I'm all yours." (Seriously, what prompted her to say that?) When Tsukioka meets

up with Kobayashi after he's landed at Iwato Island, he tells him that he should get the girls a present as a token of his gratitude for their part in saving him. Kobayashi's response? "Down, boy. I guess I honestly wouldn't know what to buy." Tsukioka then laughs and offers this little ditty: "Trying to please a woman is like swimming the ocean." (Um, okay.) After Godzilla and Anguirus have completely destroyed the cannery, Yamaji tells Shibeki he'll rebuild it and when the latter asks when reconstruction will begin, Yamaji says, "Right away. I'll go get the tools." (I'm no authority on construction, but I think rebuilding a decimated

factory is going to take more than just some "tools," don't you?) But we can't forget the most notorious piece of dubbing to come out of the film, a line so ridiculous and nonsensical that it's become something of a legend amongst the series and really bad English dubs, in general. Hidemi tells Tsukioka, "You're so brave, Tsukioka. Absolutely, darling," and Tsukioka laughs off her claim, "Ah, banana oil. I was desperate and worried and anxious." Used because nothing else fit the lip movements of Hiroshi Koizumi's original line of "bakayarou," (incidentally, that word generally means "idiot" or "fool" and the like, so Tsukioka basically just called his fiancé an idiot; real smooth, Prince Charming), "banana oil" was a slang term from the 1920's akin to the modern use of "baloney" to describe nonsense, and was so outdated even by that point that it took Keye Luke a few times to say it without cracking up.

The scene where the sheer absurdity of the needlessly reconfigured concept of the story and the monsters, the bad dubbing, and the horrendous dialogue come to a head to absolutely baffle the viewer is when Tsukioka and Kobayashi make their report of the monsters to the authorities and Dr. Tadokoro and Yamane. Not only is the dialogue here absolutely dumbfounding, but the pseudo-science, confusing and contradictory classification of the monsters, and the film Yamane plays for the men will make you wonder what was in that soda you drank. When Kobayashi identifies Anguirus from a book on dinosaurs, Tadokoro, after Tsukioka suddenly and randomly yells, "Lemme

see!", as he looks over, comments, "This is bad. This is bad. Every lesson we've ever learned has told us this: horrors in the world of science are part of nature's plan. One of these animals is a Gigantis, born millions of years ago." One of the officials randomly asks, "So, wouldn't that open worlds new to you all?", and Tadokoro completely ignores him and replies, "So, a new book came out and we learned so much. And it is called Ankylosaurus: Killer of the Living." The same official asks, "Ankylosaurus?", to which Tadokoro replies, "True. Take a look at this." He hands him the book and redundantly says, "It's a picture," before describing Ankylosaurus as, "A monster commonly

known as the Anguirus. A specimen of giant reptile who roamed the Earth millions of years ago. Murderers. Original, plundering murderers, who killed everything in their wake. These creatures ruled the Earth at one time, then disappeared suddenly." Now reading from the book himself: "I'll read you what it says. 'Enormous in its size, tremendous in its strength. Somewhere, although it is not known when, these creatures may come alive after years of hibernation due to radioactive fallout.'" This is supposed to be a paleontology book and yet, it's saying nuclear fallout can revive ancient creatures! Also, like I said, the

classification of the monsters is very confusing. Anguirus is referred to in the book as, "a member of the Anguirus family of fire monsters," but right after that, when a military official introduces Dr. Yamane, he comments, "Perhaps he can shows us the way to destroy the Gigantis monster of the Anguirus family," and even Yamane himself calls the first Godzilla in the film he shows (oh, yeah, I'll get to that), "A member of the Anguirus family." As if you weren't confused enough already, when Anguirus appears in Osaka, Tsukioka shouts, "It's the Anguirus!" as if to now make it clear that Godzilla and Anguirus are, once again, of two different species. It'd make your head explode if you didn't know any better.

But, as bad as it is already, the scene really goes off the rails when Dr. Yamane shows his film to the authorities. Unlike the original Japanese version, where it was just footage of the first Godzilla's attack on Tokyo and was completely silent, here it's padded out with stock footage from educational films and other movies, like Unknown Island, and Yamane narrates over its entirety. This film is meant to show the creation of Earth and how these creatures known as the "fire monsters" came to be but it's just... well, read this narration: "What you are looking at, gentlemen, is the formation of the world millions of years ago, as science has been able to reconstruct it for you. Out of the boiling

atmospheric gases of our planet Earth, nature evolved a world much hotter than the one we know of today. Out of these boiling Earth pools came a primitive form of life, which, normally enough, required oxygen and nitrogen. These creatures were born out of fiery matter. Their very existence was based upon the element of fire. They breathed fire, they survived in fire, fire was a part of their organic makeup. As the world changed physically due to fierce radiation layers from the sun, everything dried up. Vegetation was suddenly wiped out by the intense cosmic rays which swept the Earth. The Earth was undergoing a violent change. There was an atmospheric change in

temperature. The hardy prehistoric monsters went underground and, in order to survive, hibernated for a vast period of time. But the change had caused volcanoes all over the world. There were upheavals from within, as fiercely hot gasses spewed out of the interior of the Earth's core, which poured fiery lava down upon the surface of the Earth itself. Again, the weather changed, to cold, then hot again, melting the ice and forming oceans, where a form of more moderate temperature set in. Now, these prehistoric monsters came out of their hiding places. But they were conditioned to the terrible ordeal of fire and

became almost indestructible. They lashed back at nature. In the 20th century, man filled the air with radiation, which shook these prehistoric monsters from underground. The result was the first... Anguirus." Throw in all of that aforementioned stock footage, which includes shots of some weird creatures rising from what I guess is supposed to be the primordial soup, lava spewing, volcanoes erupting, and normal lizards with fins glued on them, crappy stop-motion models, fake-looking props, and people in very dodgy dinosaur costumes meant to be prehistoric monsters, and you've got an "educational" film that not even the dumbest kids would buy. (And what's really sad is that this half-baked explanation is somewhat similar to the backstory of Godzilla and his species in the 2014 film.)

Head hurting yet? Well, it's only going to get worse. The main reason Yamane gives for playing this ludicrous film is to show the authorities what the same type of monster as "Gigantis" did to Tokyo. Now, hearing that, you might be thinking, "Wait, I thought this version wasn't meant to be a sequel to Godzilla?" Well, that's what I thought too, but, sure enough, we eventually get to the footage from the first film of Godzilla destroying Tokyo. The name "Godzilla" may never be mentioned here, and Yamane still refers to him as a member of the Anguirus family, but, nevertheless, despite his ill-advised decision to make people think the Godzilla in this movie was a different monster

altogether, Paul Schreibman still left this in from the Japanese version. Hell, Yamane even says the only way they were able to kill the "Anguirus" was with the Oxygen Destroyer! So, what in God's name was the point of going through all of this effort of renaming Godzilla "Gigantis" if they didn't eliminate the ties to the original film? What, did Schreibman think that people wouldn't recognize that footage as being from the first Godzilla movie (which, again, was a huge hit over here) and not become all the more confused as to whether or not this was supposed to be a sequel? They still attempted to pass Godzilla off as a different monster by replacing a majority of his roars with Anguirus' (at least, I think that was the intention, or it was just another idiotic mistake on the part of these morons) but, by this point, the damage had been done and it's obvious these people had no idea what they were doing.

There's stock footage and stock music galore far beyond the opening and that briefing scene, some of which paints a rather stereotypical portrait of Japan. At the beginning of the film, when Tsukioka is describing to us what life is like in the community of Kaiyo near Osaka (in the original Japanese version, you could surmise that he and the other characters merely lived in Osaka itself), we see footage of people working in the fields, picking and preparing wheat, and doing other such chores, all near what appears to be a very poor, dusty village. Tsukioka himself acknowledges that their methods may be old-fashioned and primitive but adds, "The people are content in what they are

doing. They do not complain, for they have learned that hard work makes for happiness." Later on, when it's believed that Godzilla might come to land near Osaka, we're treated to footage of people gathering in the streets and three men standing around, praying, with Tsukioka helpfully telling us how they, "Looked towards the heavens for help, and uttered silent prayers." And finally, at the end of the film, after Godzilla has been completely buried in the ice, we're told by Tsukioka that, "Back home, a grateful nation rang out the bell of happiness and bowed their heads in homage to the men who had died to save them from this awful terror," after which we see footage of monks

ringing an ancient bell and then bowing. Noticing a pattern here? The movie seems to be going out of its way to make Japan come off as a primitive country where people work in the fields, picking grain, praysfor help from a higher power when something threatens them, and, overall, have very primitive ways of celebrating. Even the modern city of Osaka can't escape being portrayed as such, as during that montage where Tsukioka prattles on about how everyone was relieved and celebrating when it seemed as if Godzilla would bypass the city, we see stock footage of kabuki and other clichéd Japanese entertainments, like a bunch of

background dancers with swan feathers performing with an American singer. I'm not saying you wouldn't find clubs and other places that offer this in Osaka or other major Japanese cities today but, when it's lumped in with all the other stock footage and the rather stereotypical "Engrish" voices some of the dub actors give their characters (the guy who voices Dr. Yamane is especially cringe-inducing), it gives you a feeling of, "Ugh."

You also have to love how they try to make the whole come off like a worldwide situation, with stock footage of battleships and submarines searching the ocean, melodramatic newspaper headlines such as, GIGANTIS SIGHTED ON SHIKOKU-KISHU COAST, and, GIGANTIS RETURNING FOR SECOND STRIKE!: TERROR STALKS THE EARTH (the newspapers, by the way, are the "Osaka Times" and "Japanese Times" respectively; try researching if those ever existed), and, of course, Tsukioka's constant narration, telling us how this was war against a horrible enemy from the past and such. I especially like the montage after Godzilla is sighted again

following the story's moving to Hokkaido, which, according to Tsukioka, the entire world was alerted to, with the United Nations discussing what to do. Not only do we see more stock footage, including animation that was likely shown during wartime to give the general public an understanding of military operations (I think I might've seen that in Disney's wartime propaganda film, Victory Through Airpower), but we also see footage of meetings that are meant to be taking place at the United Nations, with Tsukioka telling us that the delegates, "Listened in stunned silence," and, "Plans were quickly put into effect." Well, first off,

in those meetings where they're supposedly discussing how to contend with the monster, the delegates and members of Congress seem to be sitting around, casually talking, and looking quite bored, rather than "listening in stunned silence." Second, I love how the United Nations only becomes concerned when it's reported Godzilla could attack the United States. But the best part has to be another newspaper headline, which reads, "AMERICA OFFERS HELP: U.S. To Assist Japan in Attempt To Run Down Gigantis." And what does America do? Absolutely nothing. We're told that they assisted in searching for Godzilla, but they sure didn't lift a finger to help the Japanese during the final battle on Kamiko Island. America, fuck yeah!
 

Much of Masaru Sato's score was removed from the American version and replaced with a bunch of stock cues from films like Kronos, Project Moonbase, and It! The Terror from Beyond Space, among others. As I said in my review of the Japanese version, Sato's score wasn't great and, at some points, came off as typical monster movie music, but, at the very least, it wasn't really low-grade, B-movie music. The stock music in this version, however, erases any lingering doubts that you're watching a cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel monster flick. Furthermore, it exacerbates what I mentioned earlier about how the movie just constantly bombards you with sound. If you don't have Tsukioka or someone else, like Dr. Yamane, talking your ear off with their narration, then you have this overbearing music placed in every nook and cranny of the film, even where there was originally no music at all, and it makes the movie even more of a chore to sit through, as it becomes downright annoying.

It is interesting to note how similar Gigantis is to the American version of Rodan from a couple of years before. As I mentioned, a lot of the same actors did dub work for that film, including George Takei, Paul Frees, and Keye Luke, who, again, dubbed the lead character and provided narration, albeit not in such an overwhelming manner. Also like Gigantis, they felt the need to add in a prologue talking about nuclear weapons and what the consequences could mean for mankind, in particular for the country of Japan, and a lot of Akira Ifukube's music was either replaced with stock music or, in the case of Rodan's big attack on Fukuoka (or Sasebo, as it was in that version), deleted altogether. Finally, the people behind that version seemed to have felt the original version was a little too quiet, so they added music in places where there originally wasn't any and put in many more roars from Rodan. However, I want to make it to clear that the American version of Rodan is infinitely better than the spectacular mess that Godzilla Raids Again was turned into. It still might not be one of the absolute best American versions of these films but it, at least, feels like it was made with some modicum of competence, which is more than you could ever say for Gigantis.

Gigantis, the Fire Monster could be the pinnacle of bad Americanizations of foreign films. It has it all: bad dubbing, nonsensical dialogue, pointless, overbearing narration that sounds like it was written for an audience of the blind, needless stock footage used to pad out the film (and yet, this version is a bit shorter than the original Japanese version), an asinine and confusing story that attempts to pass Godzilla off as another monster that's poorly executed in and of itself, constant bad stock music that further cements the film as a Z-grade monster flick, audio issues that include them constantly using the wrong roar for Godzilla, and a hard to shake feeling of condescension towards the Japanese on the part of those who put the film together. There are some who actually find the film entertaining to watch because of how clumsy-footed it is but, while I won't deny that there are aspects that do make me smile and chuckle, on the whole, I find it to be an irritating viewing experience, one that overloads your senses so much that, by the end of it, my mind has gone totally numb. And with that, I'm wrapping up this marathon of banana oil and calling it a day.